It’s rare that I publish more than one post in a week, but it occurred to me last night that I have a lot of subscribers to my blog who don’t follow me on Facebook or Twitter (my Mom is the best example of this). However, my beloved mother is already aware of the news I’m about to share here.
We’re pregnant with baby #2!
First off, let me state that I’m completely overjoyed by this news. As many of you know, we haven’t had the greatest luck getting pregnant - so you can probably imagine how cool this is for us. I received a lot of questions and I did my best to answer a few of them below:
#1 – Do you know what you’re having? Do you have a preference? Through the advances of modern medicine, we know the gender of our baby even though we’re only 13 weeks in (Editor’s Note: There are blood tests to check for this now). We’re having….another GIRL!
In regards to preferences, yes I absolutely have a strong preference:
I want a healthy, happy baby.
I know that’s a big fat “duh” for most of you, but it’s true. Gender-wise, I really couldn’t care less. Having a boy would mean that I’d have the opportunity to raise a boy and a girl, which would be pretty nice. But I just can’t explain it…there’s something really special about being a dad to a little girl. To MDW’s chagrin, Little DDW is a daddy’s girl through and through, and there’s nothing cooler than seeing a cute little girl in pig tails yell, “DADDY!!” whenever I walk through the door. It simply melts me every time. Would it be the same if I had a little boy? Probably. However, I’m so in-tune with jeggings, Dora, princesses, and glitter that I’m more than happy to continue this trend for the foreseeable future. Not to mention, I have two brothers and when this baby arrives in July 2013, we will have seven kids between us and SIX of them will be girls (my twin brother has two girls, and my older brother has a girl and a set of boy/girl twins).
#2 – What’s the biggest thing you’re worried about as you transition from one baby to two? Sleep. Here’s the thing – Little DDW is a champion sleeper, and has been ever since she was three months old. We put her to bed between 7:30 PM – 8:00 PM and we don’t hear a peep from her until about 6:00 AM – 6:30 AM the following morning. Yes, I know that 99% of parents reading this want to kill me right now, but I’m just stating facts. Will we be just as lucky with #2? Damn, I sure hope so.
#3 – What’s the thing you’re most excited about as you transition from one baby to two? That’s easy – being able to love another human being unconditionally. Prior to Little DDW’s arrival, I thought I knew what unconditional love was. Don’t get me wrong, I love my wife and I love my family and friends – but as every parent knows, the love between a parent and child cannot be measured or explained. At the time of this post, I can’t picture any possible way that I could love someone as much as I love my daughter – and I know that I’ll be proven wrong once our second little girl arrives in the summertime. Hell, I remember when Little DDW was born and I cried with excitement like an 11-year old girl getting backstage passes at a One Direction concert. I’m a pretty emotional dude, so I’m sure that I’m going to do the same thing again with #2.
#4 – How has raising a girl changed you? I find myself paying much more attention to women’s issues and women’s rights. It’s not that I ignored the plight of women previously, but in all honesty I was just another guy with “male tunnel vision.” In my opinion, it is SO much easier being a dude in today’s world than being a girl. Now that I have a daughter, I’m aware of the dangers/issues young girls have to deal with: rape, unwanted pregnancy, body image, mean girls, pressure to have sex, etc. That stuff is absolutely no joke. Yes, I’m completely aware that boys have their own pressures too, but it’s just not the same. I know I can’t protect my daughters from everything, but all I can do is be the best male role-model I can possibly be for them and hopefully that will be good enough. Or I’ll just buy a Louisville Slugger…because I, um…want to show any future boyfriends of my daughters how much I, um…love baseball.
#5 – Do you want a third baby? The short answer is “no” primarily because I personally like my odds of doing the job effectively when the kids don’t outnumber the parents. I have a lot of friends who have three or more kids and they are some of the most amazing parents I’ve ever seen. Seriously, I’m in awe of them. When I look at how they do the job, I keep thinking, “Damn, they’re good.” I know my limitations and I just don’t think I’d be very good at it. From my sports background, I know that I’m much better at man-to-man defense than zone defense, so I think two will be more than enough for me.
There you go. I wanted to use this “mini-post” to share this exciting news that some of you may not be aware of.
Thanks to ALL of you for your continued support of me and my blog. I’m completely overwhelmed by the amount of love you show me on a daily basis and I’m ridiculously pumped for what the future holds.
Oh, and here’s a sneak peek of FDW (Fetus Doin’ Work). Stay tuned for more exciting times!
Coming in July 2013
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A big, heartfelt congrats to you and Mommy Doin’ Work. I know you both are over the moon excited. 2 girls! We have two and it’s nothing short of amazing. I’ll enjoy reading your updates. Best wishes for your healthy baby girl!
Deb
Deb recently posted..i don’t like talking on the telephone
Congratulations!
I also have one month old girl and I felt the same when we found out the gender.
I wish you all the best, I am sure you’ll be a great dad for her too!
Sebastian recently posted..Tarta cu fructe
Congrats DDW! Your excitement to become a Daddy of 2 is refreshing. I have 2 boys + my fiance has 2 of his own (Girl/Boy) from a previous relationship and we have 1 on the way. Under these circumstances we didn’t really get to plan the parental defense. It is definitely a constant challenge.
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Oh that is wonderful!! Congratulations to all of you!!!
Anne recently posted..It’s that time of year…
I am right there with you on the issues for girls in this time of society is much harder for them than boys. I have a 9 year old daughter & do my best to guide her through all of the stuff she has faced or will face. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately we’re not able to have more kids. Hubby had the “man cancer” and lost one of his “boys”. We just figure we were meant to only have her (we had her 10 months before we found out he had cancer). We’ve talked about adoption & maybe in a few years we will. Right now I just enjoy being only her Mommy.
No worries about the sleep issues. Emily was a champ, sleeping through the night by 3 months old (yes, our friends hated us too). I was worried that our next kid would be the complete opposite. Daniel followed suit and was sleeping through the night probably by 3.5 months (so a little longer but not much). At the time my husband would laugh at me because I was absolutely miltant about naps and sleep but then he’d see our friends with their babies and all sorts of sleep issues and my “schedule” wasn’t so funny anymore.
Oh congrats on a healthy, happy pregnancy! That’s wonderful news!
I had my second daughter a year and a half ago, and there’s nothing quite like watching my girls grow and develop that “sister” relationship.
Congratulations! I really identified with not knowing how you could possibly love another child as much as you love your first one. As a matter of fact, after trying for five years for my first, I told my husband after trying ONCE for #2 that we coulldn’t do it – Iit wouldn’t be fair to #1 and I could never love someone as much as I loved #1. Luckily for me, it was already to late at that point…
Fast forward seven years – I can’t imagine my life without either one of them. You can DEFINITELY love them both, just as much…and also for different reasons. #1 is driven, amazingly kind, and will set the world on fire. #2 is hilarious, a snuggler, and will be the life of the party. Every day I’m amazed at how much I love them…and how different they are. It makes me think I might be doing my job right – letting them be who they are, rather than little “mini-me”s.
Best of luck to you – you are in for an even more amazing adventure!
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Congrats! I just told my husband, “Daddy Doin Work is having another baby! I knew it! I’m so excited for him!” And he gave me the WTF look. Yeah… he’s not really a blog follower, and I’ve been keeping up with your FDW (yes, that would be Family Doin Work) for several months now. I was starting to think that y’all were at that point of getting ready to have another! Congrats again, you will love it. I have two boys and can’t imagine my life without them!
Congratulations!
Gigi recently posted..So long 2012 (and 2011)! I’m glad to see you go. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.
I love this news. Especially the part about raising a girl. you are spot on. Girls have it much harder than boys. My oldest is a boy, and my middle is a girl, and my youngest is another boy. I was told that my 3rd was going to be a girl, and was so relieved when he came out a boy. And the doctor asked me why, and I was like “boys are easier”. He laughed. But, I was serious. Girl drama starts as soon as they start school. Boys don’t even have drama until at least middle school. And even then it’s stupid drama. Something most boys can just shrug off. My sons can roll out of bed and blindfolded put on some clothes and go to school/sports practice and no one will say a word. Not even matching their clothes. My daughter has to be careful about everything she wears. If it’s not just right someone is going to make fun of it. And she would be devistated. Yesterday I had to send my 14 year old back upstairs twice to change clothes to have lunch downtown with Dad. First he came down in a sleevless shirt, and it’s 25 degrees here. Then he came down in stuff that didn’t match. Seriously, at school no one cares. He’s 6’2″ and very athletic and plays basketball/football, so he gets away with it. His sister was like, “how can you not even match your cothes. Scarlett and gray OSU warmups do not match a navy blue gamer t-shirt.” Good luck! I can’t even imagine 2 girls. One is hard enough.
I am SOOO excited for FDW! I can relate to what you said about unconditional love. I love my oldest so much & actually even got depressed worrying I would somehow cheat one or the other of them unintentionally. I just didn’t know if I could love TWO…THAT much…because my heart was just so full with the blessing of my oldest, especially after having suffered miscarriages. But your heart just GROWS. to accommodate. You love them BOTH equally but different but never one more or less than the other. You’re gonna do great…& ALL these ladies are lucky to have you!
Congrats! I just had my 2nd just over a week ago and it has been interesting (my first son is only 21 months old). You will be amazing! Best wishes to FDW!
Thank you all so much for your kind words and support! The next seven months will be very interesting, that’s for sure. I’m super-duper pumped about what the future holds
Daddy Doyin recently posted..GUEST POST: Funny Parenting Stories
I remember when I got pregnant with my son (baby #2) I dreaded it. I couldn’t fathom loving anyone more than I loved my daughter. I honestly didn’t think I had enough love to give to another human being.
This thinking ruined pretty much my entire pregnancy (that and the horrible morning sickness that well, I pretty much deserved for thinking like that). My mom told me something that changed my entire way of thinking.
She said, “Whitney – you know how you love Hailey so much that your heart almost feels like it’s going to explode with complete love and you think, wow I can’t love her anymore than I do right now? Then all of a sudden, she sings a silly song, looks at you just so and you fall in love with her even more? Now, you thought you were full of love – so full of love for this little person that more love wasn’t possible – but it was and it is… now multiply that times 2, that’s how you’re going to feel with this new baby.”
No words have ever been spoken to me that rang more true.
Congrats on LBDW (little baby doin’ work).
Yay! congratulations, we are due in July too! 31st in fact, its so exiting being pregnant with number two, our DD is very exited and is already talking to and kissing baby